Anyone else think the Helios Hotel (Epic Universe) appears a little underwhelming?

[APH]

Of the other Signature hotels, I have stayed at Portofino and visited Hard Rock and found them both hugely impressive. With their theming and decor they are the kind of hotels that are rare outside theme parks.

Helios just seems like a standard four or five star hotel not a ‘theme park hotel’.

The advertising references a nice restaurant, bar and pool, but all good hotels have those.

There appears to be minimal theming, innovation or anything else that you expect in the best theme park hotels.

 

[tony67]

Yeah - there is a fair amount of discussion on that in the Epic thread. Its pretty basic for what we think the price will be.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

I actually really like the looks of it & especially being able to walk right in to EPIC Universe directly from the hotel. As far as will it be worth it I'll have to wait & see as they haven't announced pricing yet.

 

[Smugpugmug]

It looks like they're copying Disney's recent playbook of unthemed, boring hotel design which isn't great. The price will still be insane, though.

 

[Kit Jackson]

As of now/with the information currently available, unless staying there was the only way to visit Epic Universe, I'd stay in one of the three hotels that includes ExpressPass and take the shuttle bus to Epic Universe.

The hotel just seems kind of meh and doesn't seem to be offering any great perks. I may very well change my mind as more information is released.

 

[HokieRaven5]

It’s an upcharge basic hotel with proximity privileges. As long as enough people think the proximity is worth the cost of it.

Personally think it’s always kind of been an eyesore to the park itself.

 

[georgina]

I will wait and see what is offered with a stay. Not worth it to me just for the view or easy park entry alone. I have no issue with the room or general theme, but expect some perks!

 

[Disneylover99]

I don’t really think of it as underwhelming, just that the theming doesn’t appeal to me at all,

 

[tony67]

To me the rooms feel very basic.

I can stay at the two other hotel right next to Epic for about 25% of the price - and the rooms are about the same for my need.
Yeah maybe they have nicer beds and sheets at Helios but I am just not seeing the value yet.
Universal will need to really sell it with perks IMO.

No idea what the walk from those two hotels to Helios will be at this point if I want to check out its bar seems like I can do that.
I assume the walk to Epic from those two hotels is pretty easy - just don't have a special entrance.
Can I walk to Helios and use the "special" entrance?

Buses and benefits to IOA and US are the same - so no benefit there - unless they have a luxury bus like the Marriott and Hilton properties in Disney - but still not worth the extra charge.

 

[Skywalker3]

It does look beautiful, but a little generic. I sure hope they'll be another perk with it. Location though is why we pick a lot of our hotels at Disney, so walking out into the parks. or being super close, is VERY appealing. We are DVC at WDW, and stay at Boardwalk the majority of the time, main reason being able to walk to Epcot/HS. Theming-wise, Boardwalk is not at all my favorite.
I hope they'll be some other perks, but it still looks very nice.

 

[tony67]

It does look beautiful, but a little generic. I sure hope they'll be another perk with it. Location though is why we pick a lot of our hotels at Disney, so walking out into the parks. or being super close, is VERY appealing. We are DVC at WDW, and stay at Boardwalk the majority of the time, main reason being able to walk to Epcot/HS. Theming-wise, Boardwalk is not at all my favorite.
I hope they'll be some other perks, but it still looks very nice.

Agreed - that is why I usually stay at Swan\Dolphin - being able to walk to Epcot and HS is a big plus.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Without EPs for any of the parks, it's hard to justify staying there unless there are some excellent exclusive perks for Helios guests. This is where Uni may be a victim of their success, since they have such an efficient bus system, the ease of transport detracts somewhat from Helios' excellent location. My limited experience with Disney buses makes me avoid them like the plague, but I've no complaints with Uni's bus system. We'll see if they can keep that up with an entirely new park.
I'm concerned with the rumors that EPs included in the premium 3 hotels are bound to come to an end. Paying for them a la carte is prohibitively expensive, especially for families. It really is one of the main selling points of picking UOR over WDW (for us, anyway). But I expect this business to squeeze every cent they can out of customers. UOR may not have the leeway that Disney does quite yet, but EU may start to change that.

 

[wendlle]

Without EPs for any of the parks, it's hard to justify staying there unless there are some excellent exclusive perks for Helios guests. This is where Uni may be a victim of their success, since they have such an efficient bus system, the ease of transport detracts somewhat from Helios' excellent location. My limited experience with Disney buses makes me avoid them like the plague, but I've no complaints with Uni's bus system. We'll see if they can keep that up with an entirely new park.
I'm concerned with the rumors that EPs included in the premium 3 hotels are bound to come to an end. Paying for them a la carte is prohibitively expensive, especially for families. It really is one of the main selling points of picking UOR over WDW (for us, anyway). But I expect this business to squeeze every cent they can out of customers. UOR may not have the leeway that Disney does quite yet, but EU may start to change that.

I've heard about the rumors, if true, when do you think the EP's will be gone from the premium resorts?

 

[tony67]

Without EPs for any of the parks, it's hard to justify staying there unless there are some excellent exclusive perks for Helios guests. This is where Uni may be a victim of their success, since they have such an efficient bus system, the ease of transport detracts somewhat from Helios' excellent location. My limited experience with Disney buses makes me avoid them like the plague, but I've no complaints with Uni's bus system. We'll see if they can keep that up with an entirely new park.
I'm concerned with the rumors that EPs included in the premium 3 hotels are bound to come to an end. Paying for them a la carte is prohibitively expensive, especially for families. It really is one of the main selling points of picking UOR over WDW (for us, anyway). But I expect this business to squeeze every cent they can out of customers. UOR may not have the leeway that Disney does quite yet, but EU may start to change that.

IMO - I've said this before but they need to do a length of stay add on - how that works though IDK.
Either that or a once per ride per day express. Maybe price goes down for more days similar to how Disney does the 7 day and 10 day tickets. So day one and maybe two not so cheap - but still better than buying it outright and it gets cheaper from there for more days.

This may cut down on the throw away rooms, but that may be a good thing IMO

This was actually a big topic with people while I was at Universal for the last two weeks - just chatting at the bar this came up a few times. Everyone wants to stay there - but not if they don't get express at the old parks - especially at the rumored prices.

Personally after seeing the rooms Im fine with the two mid tier hotels. Maybe if I get a really good AP rate for 1 night Ill change my mind, but really just done see any value in it.

 

[maverik85]

I think it looks really nice from the video and be amazing views if on the park side. But it is definitely underwhelming from a Signature level. Aside from being new and connected to EU it feels more like a Sapphire Falls tier, and the lack of the bonuses that the other signature properties get feels like it forces it a step down.